Category Archives: Young Adult/Teen 12-18

Review: I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant

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I Am the Cage by Allison Sweet Grant

I Am the Cage
Allison Sweet Grant
Dutton Books for Young Readers
Published February 18, 2025

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About I Am the Cage

Fish Creek, Wisconsin—Beautiful. Quiet. Isolated. Anonymous. It’s all that nineteen-year-old Elisabeth needs, and everything she wants. Cloistered in her tiny cabin, Elisabeth is determined to be alone, hiding from her memories and making sure that no one can ever hurt her again.

But when a massive snowstorm strikes, plunging the town into darkness, Elisabeth finally allows herself to accept help from her neighbor, Noah, the town’s young sheriff. Forced to show him more vulnerability than she ever … Continue reading →

Review: Layers: A Memoir by Pénélope Bagieu

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Layers by Pénélope Bagieu

Layers: A Memoir
Pénélope Bagieu
Translated by Montana Kane
First Second
Published October 17, 2023

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About Layers: A Memoir

Following the Eisner-award-winning Brazen, Pénélope Bagieu pens her first autobiographical work in this hilarious and bitter-sweet graphic memoir.

Pénélope Bagieu never thought she’d publish a graphic memoir. But when she dusted off her old diaries (no, really―this book is based on her actual diaries), she found cringe-worthy, hilarious, and heartbreaking stories begging to be drawn.

In Layers, Bagieu reflects on her childhood and teen years with her characteristic wit and unflinching honesty. The result is fifteen short stories about friendship, love, grief, and … Continue reading →

Review: Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

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Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes

Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance
Nikki Grimes
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published January 5, 2021

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About Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance

From Children’s Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance–paired with full-color, original art from today’s most talented female African-American illustrators.

For centuries, accomplished women–of all races–have fallen out of the historical records. The same is true for gifted, prolific, women poets of the Harlem Renaissance who are little known, especially as compared to their male counterparts.
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Review: Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

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Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours

Needy Little Things
Channelle Desamours
Wednesday Books
Published February 4, 2025

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About Needy Little Things

In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend’s disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger.

Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than … Continue reading →

Review: The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

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The Swans of Harlem by Karen Valby

The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, a Legacy of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History (Adapted for Young Adults)
Karen Valby
Delacorte Press
Published January 14, 2025

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About The Swans of Harlem (Adapted for Young Adults)

A full accounting of five incredibly talented Black ballerinas from The Dance Theater of Harlem, founding members among them, that illuminates their hard-fought, historic, and overlooked contributions to the world of classical dance at a time when racism shut out Black dancers from major dance companies.

It was true until only recently, their past … Continue reading →

Review: Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Spiegel & Grau
Published July 14, 2015

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About Between the World and Me

“This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.”

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a … Continue reading →